akmal's bike park

Friday, 27 August 2010

I went to the LBS in Johor Jaya a couple of days ago for an (ehm ehm) 'upgrade' to the RTW Machine. Okay, Johor Jaya is not really that 'local' to Seri Alam. The shop owner, a young Kennt Ho brings in quite a good array of quality products. Among others: Trek (bikes and helmets), Gary Fisher, Kali, Topeak, Camelbak, Saris. I admire his tool board, too - a spread of Park Tools. My kind of stuff.

I saw this small plastic thing with straps perched atop a cabinet in the small shop - it's a Saris Solo. I've seen its siblings Bones 2-Bike and 3-Bike on the rears of a few Singaporean cars and in KL too, but that's the first time I've seen the Solo. And held it in my hands.

Designed for a single bike mounted on the car rear (max 35 lbs or 15.9 kg) , it appears 'questionable' due to being lightweight (close to 1 kg), largely because of its material. To quote from Saris' website: "100% recyclable, non-rusting materials". Basically it's plastic, some rubber material for the car/rack interface and nylon straps. It is small in size, too. Well, I don't have its exact size and footprint, but it's handy compared to my Cap Ayam steel rear rack.

I'm a bit skeptical on it's ability to hold the bike. Well, lightweight and sturdiness may not come together, unless the design is really optimised and engineered well. Plus, it's a rear mount rack, and that doesn't aid in gaining the confidence, for me at least. Also, it has only top and bottom secure straps. No straps for lateral security, and that worries me a bit especially for when the car is taking a corner. However, it is backed by a limited lifetime warranty. It warrants to the original consumer to be free from defects in materials and workmanship. Well, at least it offers some warranty compared to a Cap Ayam one.

Kennt told me that it is suitable for a short trip with car speed of around 80 to 90 km/h. Well, looks like it fits my criteria. Small size and lightweight. No moving parts - easily stowed in my small storeroom and quick mount on the car too. Looks simple, elegant and cool. Has lifetime warranty. Has no moving parts, except for the straps need to be tightened.

I use my Cap Ayam rack on the rear of a Proton Saga BLM, only occasionally because I usually would pedal to the RV point for weekend offroad rides. Most of the time it sits idle in the storeroom, or on a short loan to a friend. This might be suitable for me, on short trips around JB but definitely not on PLUS highway.

The price? RM200 at Kennt's shop. It is more expensive than the Cap Ayam ones (circa RM150), being able to carry only 1 instead of 2 or 3. It's an inexpensive solution compared to a Thule roof rack system which would cost me 10 times more. Anyway, that's not a really fair comparison with Thule for it's a different system altogether. What I'm saying is that it would work for me, but perhaps with a tweak with the lateral secure strap hacked from the Cap Ayam rack.

Will I get it? Hmm... not sure yet. The reviews on it are not so strong.

Wednesday, 25 August 2010

(m) is in kg, this is what we usually we refer to as layman's 'weight'

(a) is 9.81 m/s², a constant

As my physics teacher cautioned, do not attempt to bring this terminology to the wet market when you're buying fish, meat, etc.

For ease of discussion, I'll use the terms

'weight' when I actually mean to say 'mass', and

'force' when I actually mean to say 'weight'.

***

I often heard the notion that you don't have to spend your $ on lightweight parts for your bike, but instead just lose your body weight, or pack your hydration bag light. Basically, to make lower the rider's weight and/or anything clinging on the rider.

Reaction

In physics, this would only mean that the total weight that reacts on the ground (bike + rider + paraphernalia) is lighter than it would.

However, in the case of rider cranking the bike, that's a different scenario. The force needed to be exerted to the pedal is still high, due to the bike's weight.

So, if you empty your hydration bag, or lose your body weight, the reaction force is only reduced to the saddle (most of it), pedals and handlebars - the points where the rider + paraphernalia are supported. You still have a heavy bike to crank uphill, to push uphill during those steep (and/or long) climbs, or to carry on your shoulders (should you need to) during hike-a-bike.

While it might be nice to pack light, and a good thing if you're losing weight, those do not have anything to do with reducing your effort on a heavy bike, especially while riding uphill.

However, do not be discouraged to lose weight by riding a bicycle. You'll enjoy better health, toned body (especially sexier butt) and probably would gain more muscle mass. Or is it muscle weight? Whatever.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

Today's the 14th day of Ramadhan and my rides are limited to 3 RTWs so far. Oh, and the short ride with Umar a few days ago.

I gave a miss the offroad night ride last Saturday in Plentong due to time constraint and (ehm) overfilling of the gut after a breaking of fast get-together at Naza's colleague's place. So far, I've never joined any on-road NRs, unlike the previous years.

It'll be a few more weeks before I could hit the trails. Perhaps the first ride in Syawal would be on Sunday 19th Sept. That's 10th Syawal. Or... it could be as early as 7th Syawal which falls on Thu 16th Sept - Malaysia Day! Amacam, Panjang? On on?

Meanwhile, I'm browsing my old ride photos collection, and enjoy the ride back home this evening.

***

Images | Breaking Rule Number OneThere is an unwritten rule that mountain biking photos have to have a rider in the shot. Peruse the pages of any Mountain Bike Action and you'll find we stick by that rule. Except for today. Today is break-the-rider-rule day, because while there are no riders in these photos, try to look at them without getting the uncontrollable urge to throw on your hydration pack and hit the trail.

Thursday, 12 August 2010

I went out as quickly as I can this morning, but not in a hurry. This is only the second time I'm going out at 6.45 am (frist one was in January). It's fasting month, and I didn't want to exert much energy this morning. Indeed, I was slow on the road. It took me 42 minutes door-to-door. That's waay much slower than my knobby ride on Monday.

Alhamdulillah the ride was breezy, and I enjoyed the spectacle of the early morning cloud with reddish sunray gleaming through.

Subhanallah.

How does my RTW Machine ride feels? Well, can't tell much. There were numerous times along the way when I felt the urge to rip the tarmac, just to see how fast I can go with it. Albeit, they were left being ignored due to the riding mode I set for this morning (and perhaps for the whole Ramadhan).

I guess it'll be quite fast, with the lightweight setup comprising of weight reducing parts i.e. rigid fork, v-brakes and wheelsets. The Panaracer RiBMo slick tires and 28/36/48T FSA crankset is sure to make it a fast bike - only if I have the power, that is :)

I'm getting quite acquainted with the feel of riding a rigid bike. The blending-in was done through my riding the EPX Hollowpoint equipped with lockable fork. However, small bumps were still being taken care of with the Revelation. For this rigid aluminium alloy, my arms are shaken but still it's not bad at all. It's not like I've never ridden rigid bikes, but it's been quite some time already.

I arrived at the office door at 7.27 am. Considered quite early than usual. I like it. Hopefully will be able to gauge this ride with a 'normal' one. After Hari Raya Aidilfitri, perhaps. Will let y'all know insyaAllah.

Introducing my RTW Machine. Just lean; not mean, and certainly no gleam, save for the rigid fork.

Yeap, I'm going rigid. This is built with RTW, and possibly touring in mind. However, I'm still hunting for suitable (read: cheap) frame for the purpose. For the time being, it's a thrift build. The intent is also to make it a reasonably light and fast machine. By that, 'reasonable' is strictly not burning a hole in my pocket. Hence, I've collected parts for a few months - mostly secondhands in good condition, and also parts lying idle in my storeroom. The final and important piece of the jigsaw puzzle being the rigid fork.

I received the fork on Tuesday, and since Wednesday is the first Ramadhan, it's a public holiday in Johor. I don't have to take an annual leave to build it, after all.

:)

The assembling project started early. 6.45 am I was already prepping the ground. Took out the car from the parking space and put it outside, and started to move things out from the cramped store. By 7.00 am, sunlight is already available thus the project begun.

Necessary parts and tools are all set, only I didn't have a rag towel. Small matter, that's the reason why I wore black pants and dark blue t-shirt while working.

;)

Parts

Parts were collected from all over the country, including from Sarawak. I sourced them from friends, local bike shops and online through BBS. I re-used idle parts found in my storeroom, too.

Initial idea was to make it an 8 speed rig, but due to availability (and unaivailability) of shifters and cassette, I went with 9 speed. I could live with a few grams heavy, no problem.

Hiccup

I only realized that I didn't have enough spacers for the headset/stem/steerer tube when I installed the fork. Also, the front v-brakes pair that I have cannot be used because one of them is having the mounting bolt attached to it. It cannot be removed because it's stuck to the v-brake boss. And, the v-brake boss' thread deameter is of a smaller size than the one on the fork (yes, there are two sizes, them v-brake bosses). I texted a few people who could help me with a spare v-brakes, and only Kadafi is a possible saviour.

Anyway, after Asar, the parts were bought on a quick stop at Masai bike shop on the way to the wet market. Luckily the lady agreed to sell me only the front pair, making my expenses to a minimum.

Final touch

At around 11.00 pm I continued with the build, and completed it with my usual necessary RTW accessories taken from Hollowpoint:

Headlight

Cateye Bell

Cateye Mity 8 meter

Ibera PakRak beam and bag

Topeak handphone holder bracket

Cateye rear blinker bracket

Also, I've added a Topeak DeFender front fender. I see the need for it because there's a section in Seri Alam where there's a perpetual stream of water on the road. Much more when it's raining, or rides after a rain spell.

Another thing that I consider necessary but didn't install is the rear/side mirror. It's actually a motorcycle mirror given by BC Kelolo many moons ago. Need to tweak a bit in order to mount in on my handlebar.

Test ride

It was at about 12.30 am, just in front of the house. Only testing the brakes and shifters, plus a general feeling of riding the machine. No further tweaking needed, and I went to sleep happy.